Just let the states do state things, having the federal make laws is typically unnecessary. If it benefits business, then companies will do it. If it benefits states, then states will do it.
I'm pretty confident posting wages will suppress wages
I think it'll be the opposite. When _everyone_ is posting the wages, it lets companies at the top end use it as a recruiting tool, putting pressure downward to be more competitive on salary, rather than it being a blind negotiation.
There will be lots of companies that will have trouble recruiting, because they just aren't wage competitive.
This seems logical to me, whats the counter to that?
The same mechanism you see uncoordinated price fixing, companies set their numbers by copy+pasting from their competitor +/- a little depending on the details.
I think noncompetitive companies will be forced to increase wages initially to compete but after that initial spike the numbers will become much more sticky.
Numbers right now are already sticky, I'd argue.
a) method of colluding to depress wages
b) PR for "high wages" using jobs they don't intend to fill
c) ...
There are likely many different outcomes and each isn't likely mutually exclusive.
also it is possible to advertise higher wage for senior level, but then downlevel employee after interview and offer less and some would still accept that (Google is notorious for doing it)
Companies already functionally share compensation information via companies like Radford. You pay a hefty fee and provide your company's info, and in return you get descriptive statistics of the market.
Google and facebook don't scour job boards when determining pay scales, they pick some percentile of the market per these surveys and set compensation at that level. As a result, the companies already have transparency, employees do not, so they can only really gain.
What makes you confident about that? I only see evidence to the contrary. Having workers able to see what other jobs are paying might encourage them to make moves to increase compensation.
Hiding the numbers makes it less obvious if one is being taken advantage of, which is a reason employers have made it taboo to discuss pay.
Posting wages might make it easier for companies to match their offers to others, leading to a sort of collusion, and salary stagnation.
Posting wages might make it easier for companies to offer higher than others in an attempt to attract talent, leading to competition in the market, and salary inflation.
I suspect that different things will happen in different markets. It seems (to me) that software development may be unaffected, administrative workers might benefit, and unskilled workers may suffer.
As if that hasn't already happened
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Tech_Employee_Antitrust_L...
And if it benefits only workers, and you happen to live in a state controlled by corporate interests, screw you I guess?
The point of labor regulations is that businesses will routinely do things that give them an unfair (and often already illegal) advantage in negotiations. The whole concept of "state's rights" was invented by the segregationist ring-wing, and that legacy is apparent every time it's brought up.
In fact, more consistent laws across 300m people is often pointed out as a big reason for the success of the USA compared to say the EU which in many areas is still a patchwork of laws.
On a separate yet related note: do you trust free markets?